--- title: "GST44 Election (Form GST 44): Buy a Business Without GST" url: https://www.everstonecpa.com/forms/gst44 description: "GST44, the GST form 44 election, lets a business sell without GST/HST. Who signs, the 90% test and the buyer’s deadline, with a date calculator. Use it." type: cra-form-guide updated: 2026-11-10 summary: "GST44 lets the buyer and seller of a business agree that no GST/HST applies to the sale. Both sign it. The buyer files it, and the deadline is the buyer’s next GST/HST return date, not the closing date." faq_count: 12 publisher: EverStone CPA Inc., a Chartered Professional Accountant firm registered with CPA British Columbia and CPA Alberta service_area: British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba language: en-CA contact: info@everstonecpa.com · https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online --- [Home](https://www.everstonecpa.com/) [CRA forms](https://www.everstonecpa.com/forms) GST44 CRA form # GST44 (Form 44): GST/HST Election Concerning the Acquisition of a Business GST44 at a glance — the key facts from this page, in one view. **Quick answer:** GST44 lets the buyer and seller of a business agree that no GST/HST applies to the sale. Both sign it. The buyer files it, and the deadline is the buyer’s next GST/HST return date, not the closing date. **Buying or selling a business?** We confirm the GST44 conditions are met, file the election with the closing documents and set up the books for the new owner, at a fee quoted in writing. [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=other#enquiry-form) Buying? Start with the [buying a business checklist](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/buying-a-business-bc-checklist). Buying or selling? [Talk to us about the structure](https://www.everstonecpa.com/advisory-services) before you sign the agreement. A wrong GST44 costs both sides. [Send an email enquiry](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=other#enquiry-form) and we will tell you if yours is straightforward. ## When is my GST44 election due? It is due with your return for the period in which you bought the business. The date appears straight away. This calculator needs JavaScript. [See this year’s dates](https://www.everstonecpa.com/cra-tax-deadlines). Runs in your browser; nothing you enter is sent anywhere. General information, not advice for your situation. ## What the GST44 joint election form is GST44 is the **GST/HST Election Concerning the Acquisition of a Business or Part of a Business**. In the CRA’s words, you “use this form to elect to not have GST/HST apply to the sale”. Without it, the sale is taxable. The buyer pays GST/HST on the full price and gets it back later as an input tax credit (a refund of GST/HST paid on business costs). On a large deal, that ties up cash for months. The election, made under **subsection 167(1)**, fixes the cash problem, not the final tax result. The seller (supplier) and buyer (recipient) sign it together. It is also called the GST 44 election. ## Who files it: buying all or part of a business Anyone buying or selling a business, or a part that could run on its own. The buyer files GST form 44 with their GST/HST return for the period of the purchase, online through *File an election* in My Business Account or Represent a Client. ## The form at a glance GST44 at a glance | Item | Detail | | Legislation | Subsection 167(1) | | Who signs | Supplier and recipient, jointly | | Who files | **The purchaser** | | Due | By the due date of the purchaser’s GST/HST return for the first reporting period in which tax would otherwise have been payable | | The 90% test | The buyer must acquire all or substantially all — generally 90% or more — of the property needed to carry on the business | ## What to have ready before you file Gather the purchase agreement, proof the sale includes substantially all the property needed to run the business, both parties’ GST/HST registration status and the closing date. Doing it early catches a missing account number, an unworked balance or a mismatched date in time to fix it. ## What catches people out **An unregistered buyer cannot use it if the seller is a registrant** (registered for GST/HST). Register the buyer before closing. **The 90% test is about whether the business can run.** The buyer must get substantially all the property needed to be *capable of carrying on the business*. Anything needed but not bought must fit within the remaining 10% of fair market value. **The deadline is the buyer’s return date, not closing.** See [GST/HST filing deadlines by reporting frequency](https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-filing-deadlines). **Example.** Priya’s corporation buys Dan’s landscaping business (trucks, equipment, contracts and customers), closing February 15. Both are registered, and Priya gets well over 90% of what the business needs. She files quarterly on calendar quarters, so the GST44 is due with her January-to-March return by April 30. Dan charges no GST/HST, and Priya has no tax to fund and wait to recover. Miss April 30 and the penalty adds $100 per complete month, capped at $8,000 — so file with the return. A late, amended or revoked election costs the lesser of $8,000 and $100 per complete month from the original due date until the CRA receives a satisfactory request. The CRA generally will not process it until paid. The buyer’s return date depends on their reporting period; the [GST calendar for 2026](https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-filing-deadlines#gst-calendar-2026) lists each one. ## How it is filed Both parties must be registrants and both sign; the buyer files it with that period’s return. Keep the signed copy with your working papers: a CRA review asks how you reached the figures, not just for the form. Moving supplies between related corporations, not selling to a new owner? Use the [section 156 election](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/gst-hst-section-156-election-related-corporations) instead; it stops GST/HST circulating between related registrants. A purchase or reorganization often changes who files which GST/HST return too; [GST/HST filing](https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-hst-filing-services) covers the returns on both sides. Business purchase and sale work is quoted in writing before you sign; ongoing GST/HST returns are part of monthly bookkeeping, from $325 a month. ## Common questions about GST44 **Who actually files the GST44?** The buyer. Both parties sign it, and the buyer files it with their own GST/HST return. [Ask about your case →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) **When is it due?** By the buyer’s filing due date for the first GST/HST return in which they would otherwise have paid GST/HST on the purchase. **When is GST44 due if the buyer is an annual filer?** With the buyer’s annual return for the fiscal year of the purchase. A corporation with a December 31 year-end that buys a business on January 1, 2026 files the GST44 by March 31, 2027. The seller’s filing frequency does not matter. [Ask about your case →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) **When is GST44 due if the buyer files quarterly?** With the buyer’s return for the quarter of the purchase, due one month after the quarter ends. A February 15 closing, for a buyer on calendar quarters, is due with the January-to-March return by April 30. [Ask about your case →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) **Is there a separate HST form for buying a business?** No. GST44 covers both GST and HST, including Ontario and Atlantic purchases. Provincial sales taxes such as B.C. PST have their own business-sale rules. [Ask about your case →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) **Can a GST44 be filed late?** Yes, but the penalty is the lesser of $8,000 and $100 for each complete month after the original due date. Filing on time costs nothing, so put the buyer’s return date on the closing checklist. [Ask about your case →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) **What is the 90% test?** The buyer must get all or substantially all — generally 90% or more — of the property reasonably needed to run the business. Anything needed but not bought must fit within the remaining 10% of fair market value. **Can we use it if the buyer is not GST-registered?** No, not if the seller is registered. Register the buyer before closing. **What is Form 44?** Form GST44, the joint election that lets a business, or a part that could run on its own, change hands without GST/HST. Seller and buyer sign it together; the buyer files it. [Ask about your case →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) **Is GST44 the section 167 election?** Yes. GST44 makes the election under subsection 167(1) of the Excise Tax Act; “section 167 election”, “GST44” and “form 44” mean the same filing. [Ask about your case →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) **As the seller, do I charge GST if we file a GST44?** Generally not on the property the election covers; that is its purpose. Both of you must be registrants and sign it; keep a copy with the agreement. The buyer files it. [Ask about your case →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) **Can our accountant file the GST44?** Yes, through Represent a Client, once the buyer authorizes them on the buyer’s GST/HST account. The buyer can also file it in My Business Account. [Ask about your case →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) ## Where this comes from - [CRA — GST44 form page](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/forms/gst44.html) - [CRA — GST/HST Memorandum 14-4, Sale of a Business or Part of a Business](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/publications/14-4/sale-a-business-part-a-business.html) - [CRA — Penalty for accepting a late, amended or revoked election](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/about-canada-revenue-agency-cra/complaints-disputes/late-amended-revoked-elections/penalty-accepting-a-late-amended-revoked-election.html) General information current as of August 2026 , not advice. Elections are unforgiving about dates; confirm yours with a CPA before you file. ## Related reading - [Share sales and the lifetime exemption](https://www.everstonecpa.com/tax-update/lifetime-capital-gains-exemption) - [Winding up a corporation](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/dissolving-a-corporation-canada) - [Section 85 rollovers](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/section-85-rollover-explained) - [All CRA forms we cover](https://www.everstonecpa.com/forms) ## Other CRA forms [AUT-01: Authorize a Representative for Offline Access](https://www.everstonecpa.com/forms/aut-01) [T2200: Declaration of Conditions of Employment](https://www.everstonecpa.com/forms/t2200) [GST20: Election for GST/HST Reporting Period](https://www.everstonecpa.com/forms/gst20) [T2091(IND)](https://www.everstonecpa.com/forms/t2091) [T1135](https://www.everstonecpa.com/forms/t1135) [T5013](https://www.everstonecpa.com/forms/t5013) ## Who does this work GST44 is one piece of a larger deal. Whether the sale covers substantially all of the business, and what the agreement must say, get settled before the election is filed. See [structure a business purchase or sale](https://www.everstonecpa.com/advisory-services) for what that work covers and how we quote it. Filing one of these? Elections are unforgiving about dates. Email us before the deadline, not after; we quote in writing first. [Email us about GST44](https://www.everstonecpa.com/email-us) ## Have a question about this? Ask free through [the quick-question form](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question); a CPA replies within one business day. Need more? A 45-minute **Advice Call** is $225 plus applicable tax, credited to your first invoice if you become a client within 60 days. Want us to take it on? [Send an enquiry](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=other#enquiry-form). The election is one clause in a transaction with income tax consequences on both sides, and [the tax advice a sale of a business needs](https://www.everstonecpa.com/tax-services) covers those. [Ask a Free Question](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) [Book a Paid Advice Call](https://www.everstonecpa.com/advice-call) Email info@everstonecpa.com ★★★★★ “…We switched to him last year for both our personal and small-business taxes — responsive, knowledgeable and quick.” Heather Powers · Google review --- Source: https://www.everstonecpa.com/forms/gst44 Prices: https://www.everstonecpa.com/pricing · Contact: info@everstonecpa.com · https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online